I have just received several gorgeous begonia cuttings from a swap and I am needing to know the best way to root these beauties! I have never grown a begonia before so also care tips would be very helpful. On of them is an angel wing begonia and the other one was labeled begonia serrata petala and I can't find anything like that when I google. Could it have another name? I have purchased some perlite and containers to set them up to root(not just for these but to use for all kinds of cuttings and I am wondering if that would be good to use, also should I tent or not tent, etc... I thought about putting this in the propagation forum but I wanted to hear from the begonia experts first!! Thanks for the help!

Carly

Here's a pretty good site for propagating begonias . Go down to the cane section for the ones you mentioned. Most canes root easily in a good potting soil mix but I like to add a lot of perlite to my mix so it dries faster. Tenting is not necessary if you keep it damp and the cutting is large enough and healthy. I also like to start most of mine outdoors while the weather is warm. If you start it in the house you may tent it for more humidity. You can also root it in water, but most people find that unnecessary.

The begonia you mentioned is serratipetala. It requires more care than a lot of other canes. Kartuz has it as tropical and it needs greenhouse or terrarium care. I had one once, but it is cold sensitive so I lost it in my greenhouse due to not heating during some cold nights.

Butch